The exhibition at Matica Srpska Gallery in Novi Sad, opened on September 20th and lasting until November 17th, is a unique event juxtaposing Czech national painter Alphons Mucha’s Charity painting with Pedja Djaković recent works dedicated to Mercy. 

Drawing parallels between the old and the new has proved a successful formula for the events organized by many world-renowned galleries. Mucha and Djaković share a common Slavic / Czech background, a deep connection with the mythology and history of Slavic peoples as well as intense cycles dedicated to the battle fields and human suffering in the war times. Their congenial sensitivity and inclination towards depicting historic tragedies provide for a perfect blending and effortless connections.

Alphonse Mucha’s is famous for his Art Nouveau decorative panels, but his 20 large Slav Epic canvases were exhibited in both The Brooklyn Museum and The Art Institute of Chicago. Currently they can be admired at Moravsky Krumlov until 2026, when they will return to Prague to be permanently exhibited at Savarin Palace.

One of Pedja Djaković patrons, the art collector Martin Sestina, a proud owner of a less known, but equally impressive panel entitled Charity by Alphons Mucha is generously contributing to this extraordinary possibility to create a perfect unison with Pedja’s cycle dedicated to the Prayer as Mercy, which is also the title of the exhibition, strikingly in line with the current events on global level. Paintings, mixed technique panels and installations by Pedja Djaković are dedicated to the migrants from all parts of the world, the tragedy of genocides and concentration camps worldwide. 

This exhibition is the invitation for acceptance and forgiveness, a prayer for the past not to repeat itself, hopefully an inspiration for acts of Mercy transmitted through the works of the great Alphons Mucha and his Serbian fellow artist, Pedja Djaković.